Daily Archives: June 17, 2024

Jun17

The train from Oslo to Stockholm

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Sunday, 26-May-2024


Ohh my lord, trains make me nauseous.

I was not aware of this fact, prior to the train departing from Oslo toward Stockholm. I’d taken an electric scooter to the central terminal, arrived a bit early, and relaxed while reading my book for a lovely and quiet hour… Not thinking that I’d be desperately staring at the horizon and willing my head to remain attached to my shoulders in a short hour or two.

I have Dramamine, of course, in preparation for some upcoming ferry rides… but I hadn’t expected to need it on this beautiful Sunday and so it was packed down somewhere in my luggage.


Stepping back.

I got to the train station about two hours ahead of time… a bit above the hour and a half that the information person had recommended to me the day before when I scouted out the route from my apartment to the station. I’d had some light breakfast; a cup of coffee and a pastry, if I recall, and was feeling good.

The train arrived, I boarded, and then we were off about 15min later. As the train left, I realized (belatedly) that my seat was facing backwards… not ideal, but I didn’t think too much of it for the first minute or so… after which, I quickly realized just how closely the rocking of the train resembled the rocking of a ship at sea.

My ears couldn’t tell the difference. I quickly moved to an open front-facing seat, but by that point the damage was done and there was no going back. I focused on the horizon out of the window, and set my mind to keeping breakfast where it was. Once it was sufficiently tamed, and my hunger was starting to pique, I made my way to the food car in search of ginger ale and food… I found pepsi and spaghetti, which… sort of worked? The pepsi was cold, at least, and holding it to my head and neck did some good for my sanity.

I survived, though the ride wasn’t nearly as enjoyable as I’d hoped and the amount of blog / photo work I got done was basically nonexistent, occurring in quick snips while the train was stopped at a station. I survived, though, and was able to take some pictures out the window as we rushed part the staggeringly beautiful Norwegian / Swedish countryside at nearly 200km/hr.

Jun17

A quick note about burnout

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May and June, 2024

On the 25th of May, in Oslo, I just sort of… zoned out.

I’m writing this on the 8th of June, the first day that I’ve been able to rally myself to blog in… almost a week, now that I think about it. Maybe even a week and a half.

You, my dear readers, wouldn’t notice this – I have quite a backlog of posts scheduled to auto-post themselves, keeping a routine in the blog posts that I may not feel personally. Which is part of art – Art comes and goes in waves, with inspiration and creativity flowing like the tide… and this blog is a creative outlet, no doubt about it. One that ebbs and flows just like a painter or author can ebb and flow in their creation.


I didn’t begrudge myself that time off. I had the backlog prepared, and it didn’t need any input from me. I’m fortunate in that I don’t rely on this blog for money, and that I can create half a dozen posts in one sitting when the fervor strikes, instead of working for weeks on end for a single piece.

The point I’m getting at is that I don’t have a steady stream of creativity, welling up out of me like one of the Icelandic hotsprings. No one should think that I do, and I truly hope that no one begrudges themselves the freedom to sometimes step away from their hobbies when the mood doesn’t click.


Going back to it, I couldn’t say for certain what I even did on the 25th. I wrote notes, to remind myself, and I know what restaurants that I went to… but still. Sometimes, rest days to disconnect and detach are required… even for a globe-trotting adventurer.